A top north-east consultant psychiatrist has said more money must be invested in research to better treat diabetics with eating disorders.
Dr Jane Morris, who works at the Eden Unit at the Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen, said not one single treatment had proven to help diabulimia sufferers.
She said she and her colleagues had a “great ally” in Ann Gold, a consultant at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary who specialises in diabetes, but more could be done.
Up to 40% of women who have Type 1 Diabetes admit to missing insulin for weight loss purposes which leads to blindness, amputation, infertility, kidney failure and death.
Dr Morris said: “No single treatment has even been proven to help
“When people come in we have to throw everything at them, they spend not only meal times but have to be sat down and given insulin.”
Dr Morris said she would like to see diabetes and eating disorder experts becoming more educated about each specialism.
Dr Morris said: “In terms of finding more elegant, speedy treatment to solve the problem I think there needs to be more diabetic research rather than psychiatric.”
The debate at Holyrood on Tuesday was led by Aberdeenshire West MSP Dennis Robertson, whose 18-year-old daughter Caroline died in 2011 after a five year battle with anorexia.
He said: “We need to improve the awareness of this condition and I have requested a meeting with the Scottish Government to see what can be done to help deliver this.
“The support network is not as good as it could be so I will be asking what can be done as the integration of health and social policy presents an opportunity to improve the support network for sufferers and their families.”